Prestwick and Renfrew— Belfast (Hansard, 6 November 1946)

HC Deb 06 November 1946 vol 428 cc1370-1 1370

§ 23. Sir T. Moore
asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what was the profit per head on the 30s. air service between Prestwick and Belfast, now cancelled; and what is the profit per head on the 50s. air service between Renfrew and Belfast, recently inaugurated.

1371

Mr. Lindǵren
As the reply is rather long, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

§ Sir T. Moore
Could the hon. Gentleman risk giving a resumé?

Mr. Lindǵren
The reply runs into two full pages of foolscap. If, having read it, the hon and gallant Genteman wishes to raise any point, I shall be only too pleased to deal with it either in the House or in correspondence.

§ Following is the reply:

§ As regards the first part of the Question, the Prestwick service was operated with Dakota aircraft by Scottish Aviation Ltd., on its own account from January to August 1946, and then on charter to British European Airways Corporation from 2nd September until it was discontinued on 1st November. Certain figures have been supplied by Scottish Aviation indicating that the company made a small profit of 7d. a head over the initial seven months period of operation. During most of this period, however, landing fees in the United Kingdom were at a level which it would have been uneconomic to maintain. It is estimated that a continuation of the service on the same basis as before, with landing fees at the higher level introduced in July would have resulted in loss.

§ As regards the second part of the Question, it is at present impracticable to allocate costs accurately among the different British European Airways Corporation routes. The Renfrew service, among others, is now operated by Railway Air Services, Ltd., as agents for the British European Airways Corporation with D.H.89 aircraft. The best estimate available indicates that there is a small margin of profit from D.H.89 operations on all the corporation's internal United Kingdom routes taken together. It should be noted that the fares quoted are not directly comparable; they cover differences in mileage and services rendered.